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Battling the Season’s Excesses

I’ve already made myself sick from bingeing on a box of Lowney’s maraschino cherry-filled chocolates. Last night I ate quite a few cookies, and today I’m wondering why I gave away all of my comfy clothes. I put on my jeans and they were a bit snug, so I can see two weeks of this is going to lead to no good.

Luke’s home from the oil rigs, so I invited Denis over for dinner last night. The four of us enjoyed a beautiful dinner of chicken souvlaki, roasted potatoes and Greek salad. This was accompanied by pita bread and homemade hummus and tsaziki. For dessert I made a lovely baked cheesecake.

I have to say it’s so great to be able to remain such good friends with Denis. It could’ve gone either way, but after 25 years it’d be a shame to be hostile. Yet we all know people who divorce and the entire situation is really ugly. I feel blessed that we can have evenings like we did last night, as the kids really enjoyed it.

Today Luke and Nicky drove to Osoyoos to visit their dear gramma. I put Christmas music on as soon as they drove off, and started baking cookies. I’ve made several batches already, but now I’m baking just for us. Every year the list of people demanding the Spitzbuebchen gets longer.

I did a demo at Quality Greens in Kelowna yesterday. There was a funny old gentleman there doing a demo of some jellies, cream cheese and crackers. He asked how long I’d be there and I told him about two hours. He was shocked. “Two hours? You only stay two hours? Why?” He told me his stint was five hours long.

I said, “Because I don’t like to do this at all, so two hours is the most I can do.” In between customers he told me he lived alone, so said these food-tasting gigs were a way for him to get out and be among people. He begged me to stay on, but after two hours hours I said I was sorry, and that he was on his own with the public.

I told him I had a cheesecake cooling, chicken to debone and dips to make. He asked if I had a large family, and I said, “No, I just enjoy the domestic arts.” I could see he was mulling that over, and I said, “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m the world’s laziest entrepreneur” and with that I left and drove home.

And I’m afraid that’s just the way it is when you’re Martha Stewart the Second and Christmas looms. I found two new German cookie recipes that I want to try, and I’m busy planning the accompaniments to our Christmas Eve and Day dinners.

Last night I sent Denis home with a batch of shortbread cookies made with really fresh unsalted, cultured butter and the taste of them is to die for. Thankfully the kids at the rest of those last night as I’m not sure what happens nightly at about 7:00 PM. However at that hour I begin to shovel snacks so the less there are, the better.